But while most Democrats, even ardent critics, have declined to criticize Feinstein for her handling of the letter and its sensitive subject matter, her 2018 election opponent says it’s evidence of “a failure of leadership.”

The article goes on to state the following:

“The American people deserve to know why the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee waited nearly three months to hand this disqualifying document over to the federal authorities and why Sen. Feinstein politely pantomimed her way through last week’s hearing without a single question about the content of Kavanaugh’s character,” California state Sen. Kevin de León, a fellow Democrat, said in a statement.

De León, however, said that while “the anonymity of the person who wrote this letter must be protected at all costs … its contents reveal a harrowing account that must be considered as Republicans move to confirm the greatest threat to our constitutional and human rights in a generation.”

A spokesman for Democracy for America, which has endorsed de León, echoed that critique, calling it “profoundly unsettling” that Feinstein withheld such “ground-altering information” from fellow Democrats. “In failing to work collaboratively with her colleagues on the information she had, Senator Feinstein failed to be the bulwark against Trump’s hate-fueled, anti-woman agenda that Californians deserve,” Neil Sroka said.

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